Tonight
by Stray Dreamer
Summary: Tonight I've fallen, and I can't get up. I need your loving hands to come and pick me up. And every night I miss you, I can just look up, and know the star are holdin' you. -Amuto one-shot-


**I wrote this for a good friend of mine and a family friend's five-year-old son who both died in a car crash on May 29th**** three years ago. It's dedicated to their memory. My friend, his girlfriend, and her little brother were on their way home when someone came into their lane and hit them head-on. My friend's girlfriend, the only survivor, sang this song for them once.**

**If you listen to the song, listen to it first, and then read, otherwise you won't be able to keep up unless you can read super-ultra fast.**

**It's in Ikuto's point of view.**

**I do not own Shugo Chara or the song Tonight by FM Static.**

* * *

Present

_Memory_

**_Song_**

* * *

I walked along the rocky part of the beach slowly, and stuffed my cold hands deep into my jean's warm pockets. So many wonderful memories had been created at this lake, and every time I came here they resurfaced as if they had just happened yesterday. I looked up at the clear, night sky longingly.

But yesterday was a very long time ago.

_**I remember the times we spent together on those drives**_

"_Ikuto!" Amu whined in exasperation. "You drive slower than my great-grandma, and she's blind!"_

_I smirked at her. "Blind people can't drive, Amu." _

_She pouted. "My point exactly," she muttered. "Now go faster. I want to get to the lake."_

_**We had a million questions all about our lives**_

"_Hey, Ikuto," Amu said from my right. We were sitting on a big rock that jutted out into the lake, a bit above the water. Amu liked to call it "Pride Rock."_

"_What is it?" I said, turning my head to face her._

"_Do you think we'll always be best friends?" she asked._

_No, I want to me more, I thought. Out loud, I said, "Of course. We're the type of people who always stick together. You're stubborn and irritating, and I'm hot and awesome." _

"_Pfft, stop being so full of yourself. You're the one whose irritating," she huffed._

"_So does that mean you know you're stubborn?" I teased._

"_N-No!" she protested. "Idiot! I'm not stubborn. She muttered that last part, probably hoping I wouldn't hear it. I did._

"_You are," I stated simply._

"_Am not!" she shouted with one of her glares that were useless on me. To other people they were quite fearsome, though I didn't know why. To me, they just made her look cuter._

"_Are."_

_She groaned in frustration, but fell silent. She changed positions so that she was lying on her stomach with her chin propped up on her hands. Her facial expression slowly turned blank and contemplative as she stared at the black water. This expression made me squirm uncomfortably. It wasn't something I was used to seeing. _

_The next words that came out of her mouth were pensive and questioning, and not directed at me, or anything for that matter._

"_Life seems so short."_

_**And when we got to New York everything felt right**_

"_Wow," Amu whispered._

_I took in the look on her face, the way the palm of her hand was pressed against the cool glass of the yellow cab, and the Brooklyn Bridge outside, and chuckled._

"_People would think you'd never seen tall buildings and big bridges before," I told her._

"_That's because I haven't," she said, still in awe of her surroundings. Her face scrunched up after she thought for a moment. "Well, I have, but not like this. Not so many."_

_A tender smile crossed my face as I watched her. When we arrived at Times Square, it was dark, and all the lights were flashing. Amu practically leaped out of the taxi, almost forgetting to open the door in the process, and pulled me with her._

"_This is so cool!" she exclaimed, the bright, colorful lights dancing across her vibrant face. "Come on Ikuto! Take a picture with me!"_

_Before I could say anything, Amu had my neck in the crook of her elbow, bringing me down to her height. Her camera was in her opposite hand, aimed at us._

"_Smile!" she said, before grinning brightly. I looked at her happy face, and gave a small, toothless smile as the flash went off._

* * *

I smiled the same smile as I looked at the picture I held in my hand. When she took it, her angle had been slightly too much to the right, cutting the back end of my head off. Amu had on a big, cheesy grin as she stared right into the camera lens, and I was gazing at her softly, the lights of New York City seemed to be blaring around us. It was a perfect picture. Everything felt so right back then.

When she'd seen it, Amu said to me, "What's with the funny look, Ikuto? And why aren't you looking at the camera? You suck at taking pictures!"

"You're the one that took it," I had pointed out to her calmly.

"W-Well then, y-you suck at being in pictures," she had replied weakly.

"Okay," I had said cheerfully.

She had looked at me like I was crazy. "Stupid cat."

Putting the precious photo back in my jacket pocket, I resumed my lonely walk. I was now on the soft, sandy beach, heading for a more woodsy part of the lake.

_**I wish you were here with me**_

_**Tonight**_

I sighed, and cast my eyes down sadly. Why can't you be here right now, too?

_**I remember the days we spent together were not enough**_

_**And it used to feel like dreamin' except we always woke up**_

_Amu's loud, tinkling laughter was contagious. I found myself laughing only with her._

"_The look on her face was priceless!" she giggled out as we walked along the sidewalk of our neighborhood. _

_I chuckled. "Poor Sanjou-san, she never saw your gigantic water balloon until it was too late."_

"_I know," she said. "It's a good thing she didn't see us. We'd be dead for sure."_

"_Us?" I said. "Don't include me in your evil, neighbor-torturing vendetta. I had no hand in this. I'm an innocent bystander."_

_She narrowed her eyes at me. "Who was the one who tied the balloon and _handed_ it to me? That's having a hand in it. Ha!"_

"_It was for your amusement." I said._

"_Whatever, you're still guilty."_

_Suddenly, Amu stopped walking._

"_Amu?" I said, confused at her abrupt stop. Her eyes were fixed on something in front of us. I turned to where her gaze was, and saw two of her good friends. They were talking about a movie they'd just seen._

"_Yeah!" the auburn-haired one said. "I loved the part where he chased after her just to give her the pen she dropped. It was the start of something beautiful."_

"_How can anything that starts with a pen be the start of something beautiful?" the blond said. Then they noticed Amu. _

"_Oh," the blond said. "Amu."_

"_I-I thought we were going to see that together," she said unsteadily. It made me angry to see her so hurt._

"_Well," the auburn one said uneasily, rotating her weight from one foot to the other, "we thought you'd just be with Ikuto and not want to come."_

"_But you didn't even ask," Amu said, on the verge of tears._

"_Go see it with Tsukiyomi then," the blond said, walking away. The auburn-haired girl joined her, and they disappeared into one of their houses._

_Angered, I grabbed the visibly upset Amu's hand, and dragged her to my car._

"_What are you doing?" she asked with a frown._

"_Buckle up," I said, ignoring her question._

_She did as I asked, and I sped off to my destination. We drove through the town in silence until I reached the place I was looking for. I ran inside, paid for my item, and went back to the car. When I slid in, Amu didn't even look up. Instead, she fidgeted with her fingers._

_Putting a warm smile on my face, I whispered, "Amu," and held out the two roses, a red one and a pink one, I had bought for her. She glanced up, and her eyes widened._

"_T-Thank you, she said, her voice breaking as tears spilled down her rosy cheeks. She gently took the delicate roses from my hands._

"_Ah," I teased lightly, "they were supposed to cheer you up, not the opposite effect."_

"_Idiot," she muttered, smacking me with her free hand. She closed her eyes and put the roses to her nose to take in their scent. "It's 'cause I'm happy." She looked at me. "You really are amazing."_

"_Don't say that as if you only just figured it out," I said, but on the inside, my heart was screaming in joy._

_She laughed, and leaned toward me. I froze in shock as she kissed me on the cheek, right by the corner of my lips. "Thank you," she whispered before pulling away. She stroked one the rose's soft petals. "It's like a dream."_

_I looked at her, and touched the spot where her lips had lingered, stunned. A dream indeed._

_But, like all dreams, you have to wake up eventually. _

_**Never thought not having you here now would hurt so much**_

The old dock I was heading for was now in sight. It seemed to grow right out of the trees and brush, and into the small lake. Sadness overwhelmed me, and I put a hand over my face, but continued walking.

_**Tonight I've fallen and I can't get up**_

_**I need your loving hands to come and pick me up**_

_**And every night I miss you, I can just look up**_

_**And know the stars are holdin' you, holdin' you, holdin' you**_

_**Tonight**_

I looked up at the luminous stars and let silent tears fall down my face. Are you up there? Watching over me? You were the only one I ever let see me cry. It's the same now. Only you. Even though those times were rare, since I was always happy with you. I miss you so much.

_**I remember the time you told me 'bout when you were eight**_

_**And all those things you said that night that just couldn't wait**_

"_Ikuto," Amu said in a warning tone, backing away, but not fast enough. "Don't you dare—"_

"_Gotcha," I cut her off, grabbing her by the waist and picking her up. I started running down to the end of the dock._

"_No, no, no!" she yelled, hitting my chest with her small fists. "I'm not ready yet!"_

"_Too bad," I said, and jumped into the lake. She screamed, and the cool water surrounded us. As we bobbed up to the surface, I prepared myself for her scolding._

"_You idiotic cat! Now I won't have a dry towel." She frowned, holding up the soaking wet beach towel that had been wrapped around her._

"_I guess we'll have to let the sun dry us," I deducted._

_She rolled her eyes, and threw the towel on the dock. We swam until she got tired, and then climbed onto the dock, where we lied in the falling sun. _

_I rolled onto my side so I could see her. A frustrated look appeared on her face, and I smirked in anticipation. _

"_What are you s-staring at," she snapped._

"_You," I said with a smile._

_She blushed darkly, and tried to hide it. "S-Stop. Look somewhere else."_

"_Nope."_

_Groaning in defeat, she turned her back on me. As the sky changed colors, and got darker and darker, Amu said, "This kind of reminds me of when I was younger. Ami and I would lie by the water and watch the sun go down."_

_I didn't say anything. When it was still dusky, the first stars began to appear. Amu rolled back over so she could see them. She sighed, and closed her eyes._

"_Ikuto," she murmured._

"_Hm?" I said, still looking at her._

"_I'm tired of waiting for you to say it first, so I will." My eyes widened as hers opened, and she looked at me. Blushing, she looked quickly away. _

"_I-I love you."_

_I just continued to stare at her, unable to say anything. I was so happy. I crawled over to hover above her. If I couldn't express my feelings with words, then I would do it through my actions. After all, actions speak louder than words._

_I tucked her tangled hair behind her ear, and slowly bent my head to kiss her. Our lips met for the first time, and I felt like dancing._

_**I remember the car you were last seen in and the games we would play**_

_**All the times we spilled our coffees and stayed out way too late**_

"_OW! It's hot!" Amu cried, moving her legs up and down rapidly. _

"_Calm down," I chided. "Take your pants off if it's that bad."_

"_You pervert!" she shouted. "It's your fault anyway! If you hadn't moved closer to me, the coffee cup would not have been touched! Then it would not have spilled all over me!"_

"_Well forgive me for wanting to be closer to you," I said sarcastically._

_We were on the hood of my car, at the lake yet again, watching the stars, the palms of my hands behind my head. Amu stopped making a pandemonium, and grabbed the blanket I had brought. She draped it over both of us, and nestled into my shoulder. Surprised by her actions, I looked down at her._

"_Sorry," she mumbled with a blush." I want to be closer to you, too."_

* * *

"_Don't worry Ikuto, it's only for a few days," she said, throwing her suitcase in the back of the car._

"_More like forever," I muttered._

_She was going on a trip to the ocean with her sister. I was not allowed to go. "A week is not forever," she said, shaking her head at me. She stood on her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips._

"_It seems like forever to me."_

_Ignoring this, she stood on her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips. Before she could pull away, I grabbed her shoulders and deepened the kiss. "I love you," I whispered once I pulled away. I embraced her, and didn't let go until she did._

_She smiled, kissed me on the forehead, and said, "I love you too."_

_Then she hopped into the passenger seat, and waved to me as she disappeared down the road. That was the last time I saw my precious Amu. _

_The last time before I man in a truck veered off into her lane and destroyed my whole world._

_**I remember the time you sat and told me about your Jesus**_

_**And how not to look back even if no one believes us**_

"_Hey Ikuto."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_It's just you and me now," Amu said. "You and me against everyone. Against the world."_

_I was silent for a few moments, then I said, "Are you trying to sound deep or something?"_

"_N-No!" she denied, blushing. "I was stating a fact."_

_I chuckled in amusement. "Okay. If it's with you, I think I can take on the world."_

_**When it hurt so bad sometimes not having you here…**_

I sank to my knees at the end of the dock, my face in my hands as I sobbed.

_**I sing,**_

_**Tonight I've fallen and I can't get up**_

_**I need your loving hands to come and pick me up**_

_**And every night I miss you, I can just look up**_

_**And know the stars are holdin' you, holdin' you, holdin' you**_

_**Tonight**_

I wept, and wept, unable to stand or even move. The pain and sorrow seemed too much to bear. I need you, Amu. I don't know if I can live without you. It was supposed to be me and you, forever and always, against everything. So…where were you?

Then I felt it. Something reaching inside me and touching my heart, lifting it up so I could no longer feel the intense, burning pain. I took my hand off my face and laid it over my heart.

It's you isn't it? I closed my eyes and reveled in the feeling, letting your grace and kindness flow through me.

And then, as soon as it had come, the feeling was gone. But I could still feel it, her comforting touch. It still soothed my aching heart.

I stood up, and looked at the star-filled sky. I could feel her all around me, and I knew she would always be with me, in my heart.

I grinned up at the stars, and they twinkled in return.

I knew it was you smiling back at me.

_**I sing,**_

_**Tonight I've fallen and I can't get up**_

_**I need your loving hands to come and pick me up**_

_**And every night I miss you, I can just look up**_

_**And know the stars are holdin' you, holdin' you, holdin' you**_

_**Tonight**_

* * *

**End.**

**Sigh…so sad. But happy! Ikuto finds comfort from the stars that hold Amu!**

**~Stray**


End file.
